Gareth Jones, 36, of Morfa Nefyn was working alone on his 36-foot fishing vessel Ronan Orla off the Llyn Peninsula on Sunday afternoon.

Friends said Mr Jones, known as Pod, was injured by equipment on the boat which had winching gear.

It remains unclear how the accident had happened while Mr Jones was fishing for scallops.

Nearby vessels went to his aid and the Porthdinllaen lifeboat and an RAF Valley helicopter were alerted.

A Porthdinllaen RNLI spokesman said: “Volunteers received a request by Holyhead Coastguard to launch at 3.15pm yesterday to an injured fisherman on the Llyn Peninsula coast.

“The crew quickly made their way two miles west off Nant Gwytheyrn where the fishing boat was located and were joined shortly afterwards by Rescue 122 helicopter.

“It was decided the lifeboat would tow the fishing boat immediately back to Morfa Nefyn where police and paramedics were waiting.”

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called by North Wales Police at 4.24pm to a medical emergency at Porthdinllaen lifeboat station. We sent an emergency ambulance to the scene.”

Tributes were paid to Mr Jones by Porthdinllaen RNLI spokesman Dylan Thomas who described him as “quiet but workmanlike”.

Mr Thomas said: “He’d been a fisherman for all his life and was very experienced. He was a very nice man. Everybody was friends with him.”

Mr Jones was a previous member of the RNLI crew.

Mr Thomas said: “He’d gone fishing in the sea since he was very young with his father. He had proved himself at college in Fleetwood before going fishing with Glyn Roberts and then on his own.”

“As a crew, we all extend our sympathies to his family in their loss.”

Gwynedd councillor Liz Saville Roberts, of Morfa Nefyn, said: “We have lost a fisherman in tragic circumstances. The entire community will miss Gareth Jones deeply and our thoughts are with his family. We are grateful to the Porthdinllaen lifeboat crew and his fellow fishermen for their dedication and efforts.”

Stuart Webley, of the Ty Coch Inn, Porthdinllaen, said: “Everyone here is devastated. He was a lifelong friend.”

The tragic incident was reported to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch who have launched an investigation.

A spokeswoman said: “There was a fatal accident on board the vessel, Ronan Orla, and as a result an investigation is under way.”

A North Wales Police spokeswoman said Mr Jones’ family have been informed and officers are working with the MAIB to establish the circumstances, which are not believed to be suspicious.

North Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said the death of Mr Jones had been reported to his office.

He added a post mortem is due to be carried out on Tuesday and an inquest held in due course.